Review: The Bone Raiders (The Rakada #1) by Jackson Ford
4 August 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Fantasy, Jackson Ford, reading, Review, The Bone Raiders, The Rakada #1
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Entertaining, fast paced, bit shallow
Okay, I will say that I had a very good time reading this, it was a lot of fun and definitely entertaining. It has a certain’set up’ quality to the story but I enjoyed the way events unfolded and I would love to read more from these characters.
The Bone Raiders, similarly to other raiders, are being slowly wiped out by the new Khan. As we begin the story we meet Sayana, one of three povs but clearly the leading character. She’s come a bit unstuck during a scouting mission and finds herself in a prickly situation – shortly to become much worse by the arrival of an araatan – a fire breathing lizard that’s bigger than a house. Managing to avoid death in the most spectacular way imaginable gives Sayana a big idea and so begins this new adventure.
I don’t really want to say too much about the plot. I found the story really entertaining, for me there was never a dull moment and I really enjoyed the banter between the raiders. To be fair, I had a brief moment where I felt like I shouldn’t really be enjoying the Bone Raiders’ company as much as I did, at the end of the day, as funny and high spirited as these characters may be, they’re not exactly living the life of a hero. They take from others and they kill those who try to defend themselves – although they do keep their killing to a minimum and their fearsome reputation does much of the work and prevents bloodshed – but, make no mistake, they raid villages and kill those who oppose them, wearing their bones as trophies. And, one of the other characters from the story goes to lengths to point this out. So, be aware, these characters are not really the good guys – and yet, I enjoyed their story and had fun reading about their exploits. They’re all a bit bats**t crazy and take terrible risks, made necessary by the fact that their numbers are so depleted.
In fact the characters really make the story. This little bunch of ‘found family’, all original with different back stories and motivations. My absolute favourite was Khun – don’t ask me why. She’s always muttering and doing strange things but she stole the show for me. For a bunch of raiders this story has a surprising amount of ‘heart’ and I really did find myself becoming attached to the characters and fearing for how this would all end.
In terms of the setting, the world building is perhaps a little bit light, in fact I mentioned above that this feels a little shallow and at first I thought I might struggle a little but my fears were unfounded as I very quickly became immersed in the read and the Bone Raiders’ adventures.
A highly entertaining story with amusing characters, plenty of action, a little bit of ‘How to train your Lizard’ and a heap of creativity, plus a touch of double crossing and a ‘nasty’ antagonist. I really did have fun with this one – come for the fire breathing lizard and kick ass females (of which I hope for much more in the future) and stay for the framily feels.
I received a copy through netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 4 of 5 stars
Monthly/Weekly Wrap Up/What’s On My Plate July/August
3 August 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Review, Books, Books Bones & Buffy, July/August, Monthly Wrap Up, reading, Weekly wrap up, What's on my Plate
I’m trying to post a wrap up for the end of each month, mainly to help me to keep track of my reading and at the same time look at what I’m intending to read during the month ahead (inspired by Books Bones and Buffy’s What’s on My Plate.
This month’s wrap up post will be a bit messy again like last month’s because I’m combining it with my weekly wrap up.
Weekly Update
The weather has been great, my hip is improving little by little every day and the reading has also been very good. So, in the past week I read The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford which was very good fun, I also read and thoroughly enjoyed Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisher. I’m a third into The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine and I’m also a third into Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham so doing quite well with my August review books. I also managed to post three reviews last week so making steady progress with that as well. I’ve not been doing much blog hopping but hoping to catch up with everything over the next few days.
Next Week’s reads
Complete Forget Me Not and The Dead Husband Cookbook and move on to Aphrodite by Phoenicia Rogerson and then maybe The Last Soul Among Wolves by Melissa Caruso. (Which perhaps seems like a lot but I’ve already made a good dent into the first two.
Reviews Posted:
- It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest
- My Ex, the AntiChrist by Craig DiLouie
- Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
Outstanding Reviews
- Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
- Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
- The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
- The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
- Fateless by Julie Kagawa
- The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford
- Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisher
My Monthly Wrap Up:
Books read in July:
- Paved With Good Intentions by Peter McLean
- The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno Garcia
- The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
- The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
- It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest
- My Ex, the AntiChrist by Craig DiLouie
- Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
- The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw – DNF
- Fateless by Julie Kagawa
- The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford
I’ve had a very good reading month reading 10 books, I completed my July review books and even made a dent in my August reads. I did have a DNF – The Library at Hellebore – which really didn’t work for me.
Here’s what I’m hoping to read in August:
- The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine
- The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford – already read
- Aphrodite by Phoenicia Rogerson
- The Last Soul Among Wolves by Melissa Caruso
- Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisher – already read
- Damned by Genevieve Cogman
- This Vicious Hunger by Francesca May
- Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
Lets just be honest – I’m not doing well so far – I need to give my head a wobble.
Bookforager‘s Picture Prompt book bingo.
and the text version:
PICTURE PROMPT BOOK BINGO 2025 (TEXT VERSION)
| 1. A prehistoric flint knapped stone knife | 2. A lighthouse | 4. An archery target with three arrows in it | |
| 5. A very large mechanical telescope | 7. A stag | ||
| 9 |
|||
| 15. A stylized sun with a human face | 16. A Roman helmet |
Today, I’m ticking off another two prompts. No. 3 – an apple on a leafy branch – I’m using Hemlock and Silver for this one by T Kingfisther (if you’ve already read this you’ll know why) and I’m also ticking off No.10 – A Sheaf of Wheat – which I’m using The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst – because those greenhouses are amazing and everything grows there.
The prompts I’ve crossed off so far:
No. 11 – An Old Mechanical Typewriter – The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno Garcia
No.8 – The ruins of a temple-like structure – I’m using Daughter of Chaos by A S Webb
No. 12 – A cluster of four mushrooms – I’m using Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
No. 13 – A fringed umbrella/parasol – I’m using A Fortune Most Fatal by Jessica Bull
No.14 – A chemistry set-up of bottles and tubes – I’m using Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis
No.9 – A Crab – I’m using The Devils by Joe Abercrombie – if you’ve read this already you’ll be able to guess why. There are some very unusual creatures in this story.
No.6 – A Human Skull – I’m using The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North – because this is about a serial killer and there are definite human remains included in this one.
Number of books read this year: 54
Friday Face Off: Summer of Horror: Gothic
1 August 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books Bones & Buffy, Friday Face off, Gothic, Summer of Horror
Today I’m returning to the Friday Face Off, originally created by Books by Proxy). I’ve missed these for the past few months and so would like to get back to comparing covers (and hopefully I will be updating this page with a new banner. This is an opportunity to look at a book of your choice and shine the spotlight on the covers. Of course this only works for those books that have alternative covers (although sometimes I use this to look at a series of books to choose a favourite). So, if you have a book that has alternative covers, highlight them and choose your favourite. If you’re taking part it would be great if you leave a link so I can take a look at what you’ve chosen.
This week I’m going in a different direction. As part of Books, Bones and Buffy’s Summer of Horror I thought I’d post a few horror covers and I’ve gone for stories with a gothic feel. See what you think and if you have a favourite:
My favourite this week:
Which is your favourite?
Join me next week in highlighting one of your reads with different covers
Review: My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie
31 July 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Reviews, Books, Craig DiLouie, music, My Ex The Antichrist, Review, reviews
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Punk Rock, Horror and Blood
I enjoyed My Ex, it was very easy to read and I particularly liked the story telling format which comes across like a series of interviews for a documentary where the band members are recalling incidents from the past.
As the story begins we meet Lily and Drake. Lily has had a strict upbringing but longs to break free so when she meets a handsome and charismatic young man called Drake she follows him willingly with thoughts of fame and recognition. The two of them are about to set up a band – The Shivers – and make music history together. Along the way, they gather other band members and with Drake’s vision and Lily’s beauty they seem to hold everyone in their sway. As the band begins to find their feet and secure some gigs all hell seems to break loose, Drake’s playing seems to drive people into a frenzy, an almost hypnotised trance state where all their inhibitions fall away.
Now, there’s much more to the story than that, there’s a little bit of religion (not preachy but necessary given that the antichrist is making an appearance), a lot of rock and roll, the apocalypse looms on the horizon, and the rest of the band have no idea what they’re unleashing – until their eyes are opened in the most dramatic fashion.
What I really liked about this.
Obviously the writing is great and I love the format. DiLouie makes an excellent job of keeping everyone’s voice different and really bringing the band to life. It’s easy to get on board with the characters, I found myself liking them and in particular Lily. Even Drake, who, let’s be honest, you know is about to destroy the world, he doesn’t come across as evil – more, he has a vision and is following his destiny – and he really wants Lily to be at his side (although she’s not quite as happy with the whole ‘end of the world’ scenario).
This is such a unique story that it really hooked me and wound me in quite effortlessly. I thought at first that I might struggle a bit with all the ‘rock and roll’ elements but I really didn’t, everything fed into the story so well and all the threads came together in a very satisfactory way and more than that everything felt very tongue in cheek – even when the odds are ratcheted up and the body parts begin to fly it all feels so wildly campy.
And, I love the fact that the whole book is building up to a grand finale – a rock and roll competition known as Armageddon – where Drake is literally going to send the crowd into a frenzy.
This is such an unusual story, I felt a little unsure going in and I will say that the early chapters took a little getting used to as quite a few people are introduced in short order, but, this book won me over no problem. Very entertaining.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks, the above is my own opinion.
My rating 4 of 5 stars
Can’t Wait Wednesday: Spread Me by Sarah Gailey
30 July 2025
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Can't Wait Wedesday, Sarah Gailey, Spread Me, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is: Spread Me by Sarah Gailey. Here’s the cover and description:
Spread Me is a darkly seductive tale of survival from Sarah Gailey, after a routine probe at a research station turns deadly when the team discovers a strange specimen in search of a warm place to stay.
Kinsey has the perfect job as the team lead in a remote research outpost. She loves the solitude, and the way the desert keeps her far away from the temptations teeming out in the civilian world.
When her crew discovers a mysterious specimen buried deep in the sand, Kinsey breaks quarantine and brings it into the hab. But the longer it’s inside, the more her carefully controlled life begins to unravel. Temptation has found her after all, and it can’t be ignored any longer.
One by one, Kinsey’s team realizes the thing they’re studying is in search of a new host—and one of them is the perfect candidate….
Expected publication: September 2025
Books and travelling with Lynn 